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Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Princess Henriette of Belgium, Duchess of Vendôme who was born on this day in 1870! The daughter of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, son of the first Belgian King Leopold I, and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, daughter the only member of the Princely Family to take the post of Prime Minister of Prussia, Princess Henriette was also the sister of King Albert I of the Belgians. In 1896, Princess Henriette married Prince Emmanuel of Orléans, Duke of Vendôme, son of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Aleçon and Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria, and the couple had four children, including Princess Marie Louise of Orléans who married Prince Philip of Bourbon-Two Sicillies. The Duke and Duchess were leading society hosts in Paris in the Belle Epoque era, whose home was a hub for aristocrats, artists and writers, and she was also a noted sportswoman, socially known as the “Sporting Duchess”. After the Accession of her brother, King Albert I, in 1909, Princess Henriette began to take on a larger Official Role in Belgium, especially during the First World War, when she established several several care centers for wounded soldiers and advocated for better conditions for Belgian refugees. After the war, the Duchess bought the Château de Blonay, and continued her society life, though the Financial Crash of 1929 led to the sale of most of her jewels and the sale of all properties except for the Château, a situation worsened by the death of the Duke in 1931. The Princess continued to attend royal events, like the representing the Belgian Royal Family at the Christening of the Prince of Naples in 1937. Following the Second World War, she became active among the group of royals exiled in Switzerland and that’s where Princess Henriette, Duchess of Vendôme passed away aged 77, in 1948.